Professional Affiliation

Professor of Political Science, Indiana University

Expert Bio

Regina Smyth is Professor, Political Science at Indiana University. Her primary research interest is in the dynamics of state-society relations in transitional and electoral authoritarian regimes. She has also written extensively on post-Soviet political development in the Russian Federation focusing on elections, political parties, civic initiatives, grassroots mobilization, and the effects of social policy. Her research, largely based on original data collection and analysis, has been funded by the National Science Foundation, International Research and Exchanges Board, National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, and the Smith Richardson Foundation. Smyth’s articles appear in a wide range of regional studies and disciplinary journals. including a recent Special Issue of Russian Politics exploring Russia’s new constitutional reform co-edited with Will Pomeranz. Smyth’s, book Elections, Protest, and Authoritarian Regime Stability: Russia 2008-2020, published in 2020 demonstrates the evolution of the Kremlin’s electoral management system that relies heavily on state funds, ballot stuffing, and growing repression to win elections at every level of the Federation. Her  book Varieties of Russian Activism, State-society Contestation in Everyday Life, edited with Jeremy Morris and Andrei Semenov, was released in 2020 from Indiana University Press. Her analysis of current developments appears frequently at The Conversation.

Wilson Center Project

Making Elections Work: Policy, Protest, and Social Capacity in Non-democratic Regimes